Valve for blowers.



G. G. HICKS, JR. VALVE FOR BLOWERS.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 9, 1910A 975,240 y Patented Nov, 8, 1910.

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GEORGE HICKS, JB., 0F CONNERSVILLE, INDIAN-A, ASSIGNOB. TO THE P. H. &F. M.

BOOTS COMPANY, 0F CONNERSVILLE, INDIANA.

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Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 8, 1910.

Application filed July 9, 1910. Serial No. 571,154.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE C. HICKS, Jr., a citizen o f the UnitedStates, residing at Connersville, Fayette county, Indiana, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Valves for Blowers, of which thefollowing is a specification.

In the use of some blowers, those of the well known Roots type forinstance, it becomes under certain clrcumstances desirable to relievethem entirely of pressure on the discharge side. When such blowers, orblowers of some other types, are driven by electric motors of a certainclass, it becomes necessary, after a stoppage of the motor, to restart'the motor under conditions of no load. Again, cases have' arisen, inwhich a blowerhas been driven by an engine and, the engine suddenlybreaking down, the regurgitation of the air caused the blower to act asa motor, turning in reverse direction, and drive the disabled engine' toits destruction.

The present invention relates to a valve for use in connection withblowers and permitting all pressure to be quickly relieved from thedischarge side of the blower, and the invention will be readilyunderstood from the following description taken in connection'with theaccompanying drawing in which:-

Figure 1 is a vertical longitudinal section of a valve exemplifying mypresent invention: Fig. 2 .a vertical. transverse section of the same:and Fig. 3 a bottom view of the same.

In blowers of the .Roots type the casing I containing the impellers isusually provided with a. toplate and a bottom-plate each provided wlthan opening, one opening forming the inlet and the other the outlet. Iillustrate my present invention in connection with the top-plate of sucha blower and on the assumption that the blower discharges at its top.

In the drawing :-1, indicates a Valve-casin which, in the illustration,is adapted to ta e the place of the ordinary top-plate of a blower sothat the discharge side of the blower is always in free communicationwith the valve casing; 2, the discharge outlet from the valve-casing,representing the usual discharge pipe connection from a blower; 3, asecond outlet from the valve-casing, to discharge into the atmosphere;4, a valve-seat formed within the casing around outlet 2 and adapted tobe closed by the shearing motion ofthe gate-valve; 5, a valve-seatformed around the outletl 3, valve-seats 4 and 5 being in a common planeso that a sliding gatevalve may close them alternatively; 6, agate-valve adapted to slide from one seatto the other so as to closeeither of the outlets as desired; 7, a track-rail disposed within thecasing at each sideof the valve; 8, runners carried by the valve andsliding on the track.- rails and ,adapted to hold the valve near thevalve-seats at all times; 9, a pair of racks,

one under each side, these racks being preferably formed separately fromthe valve and secured thereto, the illustration showing the racks a'sbeing dovetailed into the valve; 10, a shaft journaled in thevalve-casing across and under the valve; 11, pinions fast on the shaft,one engaging each of the racks; 12, an outward projection' from eachside of the valve at its center length, these projections being in theform of shoes pivoted to the valve, the common axis of the two shoesbeing in a line at ri ht angles to the sliding movement of the va ve,the shoes projecting outwardly beyond track-rails 7, which trackrailsare supported at a distance inwardly from the side-walls of the casing;13, an incline rigidly supported by the valve-casing just outside eachtrack-rail, and in such longitudinal position that when the valve isfinally closing outlet 3 the shoes will ride up on the inclines andforce the valve tightly to valve-seat 5; 14, a pair of similar inclines,but so disposed longitudinally `in the valvecasing that the shoes willcooperate with them and force the valve to valve-seat 4 when the valveis finally closing discharge outlet 2; and 15, a hand-wheel on theshaft.

IVhen the blower is in normal operation, the Valve will be at outlet 3and held tightly to the valve-seat of that outlet, thus preventingescape of air except through the normal discharge outlet2, precisely asthough plate 1 was the usual top-plate of the blower. If, now, thereshould be a breakdown, or if there should be a motor drive requiring therestarting of the motor under conditions of no load, the valve will beshifted, in an obvious manner, so as to close discharge outlet les canbe no regurgitation of the pressure air to drive the motor backward as amotor andl the blower, in being restarted after a stoppage, oiers noresistance due to pressure of discharge. When the blower has gotten intomotion then the valve may be shifted back to normal position, closingoutlet 3. In shifting the valve there may, of course, be certain wasteof pressure air from discharge outlet 2 through outlet 3, but for allpractical purposes this is immaterial.

I claim l l. A valve for a blower comprising, a plate having through ittwo openings having surroundin 'va ve-seats with their faces in a commonp ane, a gate-valve adapted to slide over said seats and close theopenings alternatively, and means for sliding the valve upon the seats,combined substantially as set forth.`

2. A valve for a blower comprising, a plate having through it twoopenings having surrounding valve-seats with their Jfaces in a common pane, a gate-valve adapted to slide over said seats and close theopenings alternatively, means for sliding the valve upon the seats andmeans for pressing the valve against the seat of the opening which itmay be closing, combined substantially as set forth. y

3. A valve for a blower comprising, a plate having through it twoopenings having surrounding valve-seats with their faces in a commonplane, a gate-valve adapted to slide over said seats and close theopenings alternatively, means for sliding the valve upon the seats, atrack rigidly supported by the plate and adapted to guide the valve inclose proximity to the valve-seat, and inclines rigidly supported by theplate in position to be engaged by the valve at either extremity of itstravel and force the valve against the seat of the opening which it maybe closing, combined substantially as set forth.

4. A valve for a blower comprising, an open-sided valve-casing ada tedto form the outlet-plate of a blower an rovided with two outlet openingshavin va ve-seats within the casing, a valve a apted to slide on saidseats and close either of the openings, and mechanism for shifting thevalve from one seat to the other, combined substantially as set forth.

5. A valve for a blower comprising, an open-sided valve-'casing adaptedto form the outlet-plate of a blower and provided with two outletopenings havin valve-seats within the casing, a valve a apted to slideon said seats and close either of the openings, mechanism for shiftingthe valve from one seat to the other, a rail carried by each sidewall ofthe casing and adapted to guide the valve in close proximity to thevalve-seats, a projection from each side of the valves, and inclinescarried by the rails and adapted to be engaged by said projections andforce the valve against the seat of the opening which it may be closing,combined substantially as set forth.

6. A valve for a blower comprising, an open-sided valve-casing ada tedto form the outlet-plate of a blower an provided with two outletopenings havin valve-seats within the casing, a valve a apted to slideon said seats and close either of the openings, mechanism for 'shiftingthe valve from one seat to the other, a rail carried by each sidewall ofthe casing and adapted to guide the valve in close proximity to thevalve-seats, a pivoted shoe projecting from each side of the valves, andinclines carried by the rails and adapted to be engaged by said shoesand force the valve against the seat of the opening which it may beclosing, combined substantially asset forth.

GEORGE C. HICKS, JR.

Witnesses:

E. D. JOHNSTON, J. F. SCHWEBKLE.

